Lost in Leroux
by grace100and1
Summary: All James wanted to do was enjoy a relaxing novel, instead he is swept away into the world of The Phantom of the Opera! Will he be able to keep the story intact, or will he alter it beyond repair? What will people think when they notice that the "opera ghost" is not acting his usual self? Inspired by Lost In Austen.


_Lost in Leroux _

By Grace100and1

A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic ever! I was watching Lost in Austen, and thought: wouldn't be hilarious if this happened to PotO? If you read this, I'd be so happy if you could review my story, I really want to know what people think of this. Anyway, I own nothing besides this story and my OC. Thank you so much for finding my story. – Grace

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><p><span>Chapter 1 – "Who the hell are you?"<span>

"And now for the fun part of my day, enjoying a good relaxing book," James Albert expressed to himself aloud.

He just returned home from a long day at work, and when I say long, I mean very long. James occupies as a theoretical physicist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and as a side note; he is only eighteen years old. Work like that can make one go nuts; and James was about if he didn't read something to get his mind off his studies right now.

It wasn't that he didn't enjoy his current research of the nature of quantum mechanics; in fact, he appreciated subatomic particle science. The thing is, staring at a computer day after day got old quickly. Of course, there was nothing else one could do when experimenting with quarks; the particles were so small that technological aid was needed to view the products with the naked eye.

As he looked through his extensive book collection, James found something that intrigued him very much, _The Phantom of The Opera_.

"Well, I haven't read this one in a while, and I could use a dark gothic romance story right about now."

He nodded while pulling the novel off the shelf, and then proceeded to his comfy reading chair. He opened the book and began to read, focusing fully on the captivating story.

Time passed quickly, and it was around the hour of 3 in the morning when James shut the book firmly. He just finished reading every chapter. The story was more depressing than the 2004 film adaption, but it was brilliant! He looked at his digital watch and was shocked. Was it really that late?

"Yikes! I've got a big presentation tomorrow too! Time to get some shuteye." James exclaimed as he put back the book on his shelf.

He started to exit his library. With this, a loud and abrupt thud energized from his heating system. He scratched his head in confusion. "That came from the furnace room?" James questioned to himself.

As if it were answering him, another commotion was heard, startling James to a stumble.

'Okay, I'm going to have a look,' James thought as he jumped up and headed towards a door in the corner of the room.

He took his phone to use as a flashlight, and cautiously creaked open the door. He scanned the area, seeing nothing. Swiftly, James dashed to the dangling light bulb and switched it on.

"Uh, Hello?"

'Nothing. What the heck?' James checked his boiler to see if it had any sort of deficiency. 'Huh, it looks good to me.'

He shrugged his head in great confusion. Turning around, James walked right into a tall, slender, and masked dark figure. His eyes widened as this ghost-like man swished his cape, staring down at him.

"Who the hell are you?" James screamed as he fell back in horror.

The Phantom laughed a deep, dark chuckle while reaching for his lasso. He swung it at James full momentum. Erik had fast reflexes, allowing him to choke anyone with ease. However, before he was able to wrap the rope around his victim's neck, the victim had raised his hands to the level of his eyes.

"Erik?" James asked.

The description of this intruder fit the Phantom from his book perfectly, so he made the connection of possibly being choked. Although, it did confuse him that idea even came to mind. The phantom of the opera was a book, and even if it was based off of a true story, this guy was long dead by now.

"How do you know that name?" Erik said startled. He hasn't told anyone his real name in years. It wasn't possible for this strangely dressed foreigner to know it. That just couldn't be the case.

"Well, that solves it. Hello Erik. And oh, it was just a hypothesis. Your attire and manner of attempting to kill me fits the description of a character in a novel perfectly! I guess—." James stopped short.

Silence fogged the room for what felt like a great passing of time.

James began to speak again. "Okay. I'm obviously dreaming here. This is not theoretically possible." He pinched himself to re-enter reality.

Nothing happened, besides the continuation of awkward silence.

"Hypothesis?" Erik questioned.

This boy was not guessing anything; he clearly knew something about him. Normally, he would just kill anyone who could possibly ruin his opera house charade immediately, but he needed to ensure that this person was the only one who knew of his identity. "What is this novel you speak of? Show it to me!" His voice rose to a shout, causing his victim to stand up fearfully.

'Okay, that's not happening buddy. No way am I turning my back allowing you the upper hand. Walking backwards would be equally risky too.' James laughed nervously. "Did I say novel? I really meant… Well… I was able to deduct your name. I heard you say it under your breath. It's a technique that I learnt from a _novel_."

He hoped that the Phantom was would buy this poorly constructed lie. He knew he wouldn't.

Erik did not know what to say to this. It was too unclear to tell whether this person was untruthful. Right now, his best option was to kill him, and leave this strange place. It was almost time for his lesson with Christen anyway, and he would not be missing that. He pulled out a knife, and hid it from view under his cape, ready for a surprise attack.

"Well, in that case, I would like you to show me this novel, so that I may also learn this secret art."

"Actually my friend, you have some _serious_ explaining to do. You are some random, creepily dressed guy who magically appears in _my_ furnace room. I will call 911 right away, if you don't start spilling how you got here. Is this some sort of prank show?"

James was more frustrated than frightened at this point. This was probably the weirdest day of his life, even more so than the day he accidentally enrolled in a performing arts program instead of the science fair (to be fair, he was set up by his archenemy, the school jock).

Erik was completely perplexed at this point. What does he mean by 911, and was it something he should worry about? This blackmail didn't strike any sort of fear in him, however due to his lack of understanding, he decided to play it safe.

"Interestingly enough, I'd like to know the same thing. There I was, walking through one of my passageways, and I discovered a trapdoor that I haven't noticed before. I opened it, and alas, here I am."

"I see. In that case, let me introduce myself. My name is James Albert, and I am a theoretical physicist at MIT. Now that we are acquainted, as a friend I'd like to tell you to leave my house forever. Goodbye."

James had since spotted an open trapdoor beside his boiler, and so he began to walk towards the phantom, planning to shove him out of his sight for good.

"A pleasure to meet you James." 'Enough of this foolishness, I am going back to the opera.'

Just as he was about to leave, James started approaching him.

"STAND BACK!" He darted his hidden knife into sight, prepared to attack. James lifted his hands in surrender, but it was too late. Erik lunged the knife forward.

As the knife flew at him, James attempted his best to perform a somersault and escape injury. Instead, it really looked more like a log roll, and he mistakenly knocked Erik off his feet.

"Sorry." James winced. This was not going to end well.

"YOU DARE MAKE A FOOL OF THE OPERA GHOST?"

'Crap. This guy is pissed.'

James had to think fast at this point. Within a split second, he checked his surroundings and noticed he was lying right beside the trap door. "Well, here goes nothing," and with that, James disappeared, closing the trapdoor behind him.

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><p>AN: Dun dun dun! What will happen next? Will Erik follow pursuit, or will he even be able to? Again, if you could review, it would make my day/week/life!


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